


Blind date

by trevo4folhas



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8666419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trevo4folhas/pseuds/trevo4folhas
Summary: Nelliel Tu Oderschvank - who was incomprehensibly still single - got set up on yet another blind date by her dedicated friends. This time, they picked a real winner, or so they thought.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Been wanting to write a little Grimmnel story for a while. Enjoy!

Nelliel Tu Oderschvank.

That was her full name, but no matter where she went (and she had been in many vastly different places), everybody deemed it immediately unpronounceable at first attempt, and casually shortened it to Nel.

Not that she complained about it. It had a pleasant simplicity to it that Oderschvank couldn't touch, but she was still very much attached to that surname. Whenever someone thought to cheekily ask why that was, she only ever vaguely explained the reason.

It had been different times, a different nation, when she was younger and even bubblier than she was now. France was the country of love, and it didn't take long for her to meet someone intriguing enough to catch her eye. The attraction was mutual, and Paris' charms soon bewitched them both, leading them from sipping champagne at the margins of the Seine, to her small, overpriced studio that overlooked the city.

It had been entrancing, small but cozy, and far too easy to wake up in the mornings with her legs entwined in his. The word lovers left a sweet taste in her mouth, so much it shifted away other minor details, such as the fact they were more or less each other's complete opposite. Their differences simply didn't seem to reach her. Nope, instead naive old Nelliel moved in with her boyfriend too quickly, completely lost in her fantasy until they both fell deep enough in it to discuss an impending marriage.

If only she could go back in time, she would have snapped at her past self to quit watching so many sappy romance movies and get a grip. Unfortunately, as time travel wasn't going to become a reality anytime soon what was done was done, and she'd just have to live with the embarrassment.

They got married in a little civil union with no guests besides the one required witness – a complete stranger her husband dragged out of a restaurant to sign the paperwork in exchange for a paid dinner. Somehow that didn't deter her. In her sickeningly love-sick state of mind, she figured it was charming, unique, and her friends were back in her Austrian hometown anyway, so a big ceremony with plenty of guests wasn't going to happen. In fact, the alarm bells only started ringing once it was time to decide on their surname, and he gave out his own without a second of hesitation.

“How come I have to take your last name?” She blurted out before he had time to sign it as such, making him look at her with a deep frown, as if her question was ridiculous.

“You're _the woman_.” He answered. It was her turn to frown.

"So?"

"So that's just how things work."

The ceremony itself was already out of the ordinary, but suddenly he wanted the traditional approach and have her be his Mrs.? Granted, she had been aware of the pros of their union, but for the first time since the idea of it came to mind, Nelliel wondered if they had thought about what they were doing well enough before jumping into it.

She didn't voice her second doubts, but she did point out the first, this time eliciting another excuse from him.

“Oderschvank is harder to pronounce.”

As if he had any right to talk with his own raspy, German surname, but regardless she pushed the hesitant thoughts back and accepted the change. After all, they were very much in love, very much in the city of love, and his hand was still warm on hers.

It really wasn't the brightest moment of her life.

Their marriage lasted a little over a year, during which the once little differences between each other became colossal. Her husband drank, her husband partied, her husband fought, and very often her husband pulled off an impressive combination of all three by arriving home drunk out of his mind after getting into a fight at a party.

Of course that when morning came and his hangovers struck, he couldn't be bothered with hearing his wife snap at him for throwing up in the carpet, breaking vases or whatever he had decided to destroy the previous evening, instead acting like a victim of her incessant whining and storming off their apartment for the rest of the day.

Nelliel didn't even know when she stopped wearing the ring he gave her, or at which point she went back to signing things with her maiden name, but fuck if that hadn't felt like a small victory every time the pen finished spelling the word Oderschvank.

When time came to do so on their divorce papers, she didn't know who was more embarrassed at her failure of a relationship, her friends and family who she _vaguely_ recall warning her that relationship was a bad idea, or herself, who heard them and scoffed it off anyway.

Needless to say she didn't like to talk about it, so she only ever offered the short version of things. Used to be married, didn't go so well, is happy to have her maiden name back. Thankfully, nobody ever wanted to expand the unglamorous topic of a divorce, so the subject of her surname was dropped just like that.

Unfortunately, it also brought up the fact that she was single, and it seemed that the world just found it particularly sad to see an aging 28 year old woman like her giving up on the pursuit of happiness (which apparently HAD to include marriage and a couple of kids) because of one bad experience.

Not that she'd ever say her past marriage had been traumatic – sometimes things don't work out and that's just how it is – and henceforth the reason for someone with her looks to be boyfriend-less after so long, but maybe, just maybe, it made the concept of a lover sound a bit unappealing.

Just maybe. It probably didn't help her keep appearances to tell people she moved to Germany right after her failed marriage. Nel hadn't been trying to run away from her ex, per say, but it sure sounded like it to everyone who knew. Tragically, that only encouraged her friends to “help her out” by picking out a few men from their lists of acquaintances.

Here's Kira, a friend of a friend who's shy, but such a great guy. Or Ishida, another friend's cousin who was also single and ready to mingle. Take your pick, Nel, quiet or loud, thin or thick or fully ripped, they sure managed to dig up a man of every variety somehow. The contenders kept being thrown at her for so long with no results that at some point they had begun set her up with women.

She wasn't sure if she was impressed at everyone's efforts, or straight up annoyed at the pity fest.

Regrettably, they did try so very hard that she almost felt guilty her dates never lead anywhere. That was mostly why she said yes to a blind encounter once again, on the off chance that the 23rd time was the charm, and that she'd meet a man so impressive and wonderful the gears of her love life would be once again set in motion. And boy, did her buddies advertise this guy like the greatest thing since birth control.

He was handsome, tall, with a perfect body and the most stunning blue eyes. Apparently he was also charming and funny, not in a class clown way, but in a devious, seductive one. Oh, and very smart, of course. The list went on and on until she dozed off midway through the flattering descriptions, pretty sure that if he was indeed as good as he was painted to be, he had to have some major flaw to still be single.

That had been her first mistake, actually: dozing off. The second mistake was accepting the blind date, because if she hadn't dozed off to think about ordering takeout for dinner, she would have caught the guy's name and avoided the awkward situation she found herself at.

But no, instead she was sitting at a cozy (and granted, romantic) restaurant table with a man she knew all too well. Yes, he was handsome, and tall, and devious. Very devious. And yes, he also had one incredible flaw that she simply could not overlook.

He was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, a man whose surname was only a little less unpronounceable than her own, but that she could write flawlessly, since, you know, she had once shared it with him.

Her friends had unknowingly set her up on a date with her ex husband.

Nel was already sitting at her table when he arrived dressed to kill, a look that somehow lost its effect when he looked at her face and froze on his spot, quietly trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It was a silence she returned, face blanched and eyes wide open. Four long years had passed since she last saw his face, years during which she never once thought to mention his name to her new friends. As far as they were concerned, he was “My-Ex-Husband”, the evil, faceless tyrant that was anything but desirable.

They couldn't have possibly known he was Grimmjow, but she was mad at them anyway.

And of course, she soon found herself mad at him too, because out of everything he could have done, there was a clear possibility of just walking away and pretending their little encounter had never happened.

Instead he sighed, and sat down in front of her after working out the situation.

“I'm going to start paying attention to people's names from now on.” He muttered, looking at her with displeased eyes as if he just explained what happened very eloquently.

The fact that had been exactly what landed her into this problem as well bothered her more than she would have liked.

“I guess we can call it a night then.” She said, voice blank and eyes cold. Grimmjow seemed impervious to them, however, and picked up the menu, looking through the plates.

“Ever ate here?” He asked, ignoring her glare.

“No.” Her reply was pointed as she reached for her purse.

“It's been a long time, Nelliel.”

She stopped her movements at his words. It wasn't just hearing her name from his lips again, but recognizing the challenge in his voice. It'd been a long time, yes it had. Long enough to forget and move on, like they surely should have by now. Or at least like he was trying to imply he had, the little prick. When had Grimmjow ever acted like he was the bigger man?

“It has.” She fell back on her seat, watching as he glanced and smirked at her. “The steak here is good.”

“I thought you never ate here before.” He said, eyes still going through the menu.

Nel cursed her own lack of attention. So maybe she lied, but it wasn't as though she planned on sticking around, let alone letting the other man know that she had indeed been there before. On dates. An obscene amount of dates, actually, that never amounted to anything.

“I've been told.” She muttered, and he dropped the menu, signaling for the waiter to bring two steaks and whatever the most appropriate wine was, since living in France for so long still left him as clueless regarding the drink as any imbecile.

“How have you been?” He asked her, making her hesitate for a brief moment. Maybe she was being too harsh on him.

“I've been good. Wasn't expecting you to be in Germany.” Nel answered, picking olives from the entree plate.

“I'm German, this is my country. It's a lot more surprising for you to be here.”

“Needed a change of scenery. France is nice and all but...” The sentence faded away before she could finish it, but he did it for her.

“Too many memories.” Nel glared at him, making him snort. “The elephant is in the room, might as well acknowledge it.”

“You give yourself too much importance.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Partially.” She muttered. “I felt like I'd done it all there already. Same for you?”

“Like I said, this is my home country, I'd come back to it eventually.”

“So how long have you been here?” Nel insisted, wanting the satisfaction of knowing he also had too many memories of their life together in Paris to comfortably settle back in there without her. Petty? Perhaps, but she was hoping for it anyway.

He hesitated, eyes narrowing before actually answering her. “Three years.”

She leaned back on her seat with a pleased smile.

Score!

At least something good had come out of it. Sort of. Honestly, she still wasn't sure if knowing the divorce had actually gotten to him was enough to make the night worth it, especially as they fell into an uncomfortable silence that they occupied by trying to look at ease. Nel was thankful the service was fast, because if she had something to eat she could at least have an excuse not to make weather talk.

For once, it seemed as though they were on the same page, as he busied himself with dinner, only offering a few words here and there. All things considered, with her vast dating experience, she had had much worse nights than this one. That thought alone made her the corners of her mouth curl up, a smile that didn't reach her eyes but was still enough to catch Grimmjow's attention.

He finished his plate and waited for her to do the same, his attentive stare promising no good and making her want to eat as slowly as possible.

“Well Nelliel, I've got to say...” He sighed, before letting his blue eyes fall on hers with an unusual sincerity behind them. “After we broke up, I did many things. I met a lot of people. A lot of women, and I do mean it when I say a lot.”

If he wasn't asking for her hand to smash against his face repeatedly, she didn't know what else he could be getting at. This was Grimmjow behavior 101 – how to deliberately piss Nelliel off as much as possible before actually getting to the point.

“Supermodels, you know. Classy French beauties, and wild girls, and quiet girls...” He listed, on and on with shallow descriptions as she held the palm of her hand ready to slap his mouth shut as hard as she could.

She was a strong woman too, one of her slaps could snap his jaw out of place, she was sure of it.

“But none of them could hold a candle to you.”

Just like that, she paused, her hand still ready to strike despite having to take a moment to collect herself.

“Aw, Grimmy.” Nel finally reacted, throwing in the nickname he never liked for good measure. “Didn't think you'd go all sweet on me again.”

“Is that so? It's like you don't even know me anymore.”

“If only I didn't, I could be flattered.”

“I mean it, though.” He grumbled, eyes shifting to the side as if checking to make sure nobody would hear him. “You ruined women for me. Whenever I meet one, I'm comparing them to you before I know it, and they never measure up.”

“Why?” Nel asked before she could stop herself. It was a mistake to give the man an opportunity to be charming, and she knew that, but deep down she was more than willing to have her ego brushed a bit.

“For starters...” Grimmjow begun, looking at her appreciatively. “You are beautiful. My buddies in Paris would point that out a lot when we went out for drinks.”

She had half a mind to question how the topic of her looks came about on his nights out, but let the other go on. No use thinking of a past long gone.

“You're not clingy either. You could always hold up your own, do your own thing and let me do mine.” He smirked. “I really took that one for granted.”

Nelliel scoffed, remembering how his casual nights out turned to messy ordeals she ended up having to clean after. “Good to know you're aware of that.”

“Maybe you shouldn't have been so lenient.”

“Who says I wanted you around all the time, anyway?”

“Didn't want me around at all in the end.”

“I'm sure it was mutual.”

Grimmjow only scoffed at her words before continuing.

“And I remember you tasted sweet from all the crap you ate. Sugary and warm, anything but plain. I used to think to myself your teeth would rot away one day and I'd be stuck kissing dentures.” She frowned at him. As someone who had been expecting compliments, Nel didn't find those words very flattering, but he quickly brushed her annoyed expression off. “Now I miss it. I miss how all of you felt so sweet you could corrode me...”

Their eyes met.

“...And how you'd hurt me when you dug your nails on my back.”

“You're starting to go down a masochistic path, Grimmjow.” She chuckled, having him grin widely at her.

“You liked it when I hurt you too, if I can remember right.”

“I don't think you're supposed to be flirting with your ex.” She blushed, the frown back on her features. “Stick to the point.”

“Tsk. The point is I liked you, and there's no woman out there like you. If there are they sure as fuck aren't single. I don't even know why you're getting set up on dates.” He smirked. “Maybe I ruined men for you too.”

Yes, he had, because ever since he went ahead and spoiled their little love story, she couldn't look at a man (regardless of how charming and sweet he seemed) without thinking he would lose his charm the moment things turned serious. Not that she'd let Grimmjow know of that. No, he would take it as a compliment even if it was anything but that.

“You didn't.” She said, lifting her chin almost arrogantly. Maybe he could tell she was bullshitting, because he raised an amused eyebrow at the action. “Like you said, I have a lot going for me, so I'm taking advantage of it.”

“Didn't take you for such a promiscuous woman, Nelliel.” Grimmjow said in a low voice, his hand meeting hers over the table, brushing his fingers against one he once placed a ring on.

“Should have paid more attention, hm?” She muttered, trying to shift her hand from his touch before he grasped it firmly, not letting her get away. His eyes were fixed on her.

“Yeah, I should have.”

Nelliel barely realized he was slowly leaning towards her, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her full lips. More so than that, it alarmed her to realize she moved forward too, her long hair draping over her shoulder and onto the table's surface. When she murmured her reply, they were already close enough for their breaths to mingle.

“I grew up now.” Pulling herself together, she fell back on her seat, and he copied the motion with a close mouthed sigh. “I don't make the same mistakes twice.”

The word “mistakes” seemed to hurt Grimmjow's pride, as he scowled at her before getting back to the conversation.

“It's not that I'm searching for someone to dance around with.” He started. “My friends put me up to this whether I want it or not, so I just figured I'd get it over with, meet a few more women, bed them, and repeat the cycle some other time.”

“Charming.” She said, unimpressed. Figures the man wouldn't even make an effort.

“I already had someone, already had a taste of what I'm missing. And it didn't work out.” He shrugged. “I wasn't make for this bullshit.”

She was about to retort how right he was as far as his ineptitude for relationships was, when he raised an eyebrow at her with a smile that was a telltale for trouble.

“Unless you want to do what I do with all my dates and go back to my place to reminisce.”

She leaned forward, a smile on her lips that was almost contagious, he had to try to hold back his own smirk. Grimmjow wasn't sure if he completely succeeded at it. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards before biting it away, but for once he was glad he at least tried, because not a moment after her hand met his face in a resonant slap that silenced the restaurant.

“God, that felt good.” She broke the silence, with the smile still on her lips as though she hadn't just hit him in a room full of people.

“Now, now, Nelliel.” He rushed forwards, grasping her wrist. She had to bite back a groan at the painful grip, having forgotten how Grimmjow never held back his strength. Still, she couldn't help to keep taunting him.

“What's wrong, Grimmy? I thought you liked it when I hurt you.”

“In a bedroom context I wouldn't mind.” He spoke between gritted teeth. “Here? Not a fan.”

"Want me to kiss it better?” Just like that, he released her and stood up to leave, not feeling like taking any more digs at his pride from this woman that always managed to rile him up so effortlessly.

The restaurant was still silently watching the scene. Suddenly the satisfaction she felt was swept away, and not wanting to be left alone in there as the center of very much unwanted attention, she rushed up to follow him out.

“What?” He snapped at her as he noticed he was being followed, already outside the restaurant.

Absolutely nothing changed since the beginning of the night. The two of them were still ancient history. There was nothing waiting for them out there, nothing to gain from following him or even saying another word. Yet, the current sight reminded her of those old days when she'd wake him up from the couch he'd fallen into the previous night, and scold him until he stormed off the house. To nag at him now was almost ridiculous, like a habit that refused to die out, but she could never hold herself back when he was around.

“You still run away from your problems like a child.”

Grimmjow spun around before she could react, taking her wrists and pinning them against the wall behind her, leering at her like some animal.

“You always did like going for a man's balls, huh, Nelliel?” She smirked at him.

“Just yours, Grimmy.”

“The name is Grimmjow. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. You ought to know, you had half of it once.”

“Never liked it.” She said the truth, and he didn't even question it.

“It didn't suit you anyway.”

“Yet you wanted me to have it.” She commented as he released his grip on her wrists, leaving her free to lift her hands to his chest in a motion to push him away, but without the resolve to do so.

“Maybe I just didn't want to have Oderschvank attached to mine.”

“It wouldn't suit you either.” He smirked as she spoke. “Maybe we should have thought about that back then, and we would have saved ourselves some trouble.”

“Not all was bad.” Grimmjow admitted, as he raised one hand to brush a strand of hair off her face.

“Just most of it.”

“Just like this date, huh?”

“No, I don't think this date had any redeeming points.” She raised her eyebrow at him, making him snort.

“You haven't been on enough dates then. At least this wasn't boring.”

“I can live with boring. Not sure if I can handle you again.” Despite her words, she found her hands had moved to his shoulders, closer to his neck, and once again his breath felt warm against her skin.

“No, I don't think you can... neither of those things...” His thumbs caressed her cheeks, rough and calloused against her softness as he leaned in. “But better the devil you know...”

Nel hadn't taken note of things until they ended, and truthfully they had ended far too soon. Maybe it had been for the best, she hadn't decided whether she should be grateful for the interruption or complaining about it. She hadn't noticed her eyes had closed until she opened them, hadn't realized how close he was to her until he stepped back, and barely felt their lips touch until that contact was lost.

What she did take notice was Grimmjow being pulled away from her by the restaurant manager with a little more force than necessary, and even so it took her a few moments to realize what was happening. The man probably wasn't two happy they left his restaurant without paying, and it showed on his face as he started yelling at both of them.

At least the fact that her ex-husband was a retaliating hothead meant most of the insults stayed between the two men. Nelliel smirked, patting Grimmjow's shoulder as he cussed the restaurant's manager out more so than defended himself.

“I had a great time, but I have to go now.” She told him as she turned around, watching him stutter more insults before facing her in a double take.

“Where do you think you're going?” He yelled, snapping from her to the other man as if he didn't know where to turn to.

The sight made her laugh out loud.

“Pay up, Grimmjow!”

“How come I have to pay for it?” He protested, his eyes flashing his anger.

“You're _the man_.” She grinned, an action that only seemed to annoy him more. She leaned towards him one last time, pecking his cheek as a farewell. “Isn't that how things work?”

For once he didn't say anything as he watched in clear surprise as she walked away, only looking over her shoulder to offer him a little wave of her hand.

Grimmjow smirked at it, baring a hint of sharp teeth before turning back to the manager and reaching for his wallet, albeit yelling as much as possible while doing so.

It was clear the whole dating thing just wasn't going to work out for her. Somehow, she didn't actually mind that too much.

 


End file.
